The Macanese Diaspora in British Hong Kong: A Century of Transimperial Drifting

by Catherine S. Chan

 

 

Diaspora transformed the urban terrain of colonial societies,  creating polyglot worlds out of neighborhoods, workplaces, recreational clubs, and public spheres. Through a century of Macanese activities in British Hong Kong, The Macanese Diaspora in British Hong Kong: A Century of Transimperial Drifting explores how mixed-race diasporic communities survived within unequal, racialized, and biased systems beyond the colonizer-colonized dichotomy. Originating from Portuguese Macau yet living outside the control of the empire, the Macanese freely associated with more than one identity and pledged allegiance to multiple communal, political, and civic affiliations. They drew on colorful imaginations of the Portuguese and British empires in responding to a spectrum of changes encompassing Macau’s woes, Hong Kong’s injustice, Portugal’s political transitions, global developments in print culture, and the rise of new nationalisms during the inter-war period.

 

 

 

Meet the Author

 

Catherine S. Chan acquired her PhD in History at the University of Bristol. She is currently an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Macau where she works on the social and urban histories of Macau and Hong Kong, as well as the Macanese diaspora in the colonial period. She has also done research on heritage issues in East and Southeast Asia. Her recent project concerns greyhound racing, the city and animal welfare in twentieth-century Macau.

 

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Also in this session: Project Macau History, 

a new blog for Re-exploring a city’s narratives

 

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